Tag Archives: nature

Red kites feeding

Thursday 14th May 2015, 3.00pm (day 1,358)

Red kites, 14/5/15

For the second Thursday in a row I went off on a trip outside England and into another nation of the UK — this time Wales, its first appearance on the blog. I am visiting a colleague in Aberystwyth, a town with more books per head of population than anywhere in the world, apparently. Later in the day she took me to a place in the hills above the town, a centre devoted to maintaining the population of red kites (Milvus milvus), handsome birds of prey. The birds gather to be fed every day at 3pm. This was my best attempt at capturing the flock as they came down and feasted on the bounty, they all move damn quickly and I don’t have the equipment to freeze their movement in the way a pro would. But I like the one on the bottom left, caught looking at the camera.

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Milo

Friday 8th May 2015, 12.05pm (day 1,352)

Milo, 8/5/15

I am here in Dundee to finish off writing a paper with my colleague Annalisa and this task was undertaken today at her house; and this is the man of said house. The rest of us are just staff. Milo becomes the third cat in a row to feature on this blog where I’ve known its name, after Harry and Mathilda, the last two CCSs (Cheap Cat Shots).

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Blackbird at the station

Tuesday 28th April 2015, 7.45am (day 1,342)

Blackbird and fence, 28/4/15

I went all the way to London and back today for no immediately obvious reason thanks to someone cancelling a meeting at the last minute. Basically I did a 10-hour round trip to have lunch in the Parcel Yard at King’s Cross. So here’s none of that. Instead, let’s feature this blackbird who was looking suspiciously at me at Hebden Bridge station this morning.

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Spring growth

Sunday 26th April 2015, 2.10pm (day 1,340)

Spring growth, 26/4/15

Although a little colder than it has been today was another nice day, somewhat in defiance of the weather forecast. I like this shot because of the impressive vertical of the trunk on the right and the feeling it gives of the tree shooting upwards; plus the roof sneaking in the background, that’s very Hebden Bridge.

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Tree at dusk

Tuesday 14th April 2015, 8.25pm (day 1,328)

Tree at dusk, 14/4/15

My day in Manchester was OK but I had a greatly extended journey home for reasons that are too ridiculous to report here. But it was nice to come home to a beautiful evening. This is the tree in our allotment garden, which actually I keep wanting to get cut down, but we’ll give it its due credit tonight. So nice to still have light in the sky at this time of night, as well.

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Motherhood…

Friday 10th April 2015, 11.20am (day 1,324)

Motherhood, 10/4/15

There’s a lot of it about… particularly among the ewe population of northern England.

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Neapolitan

Wednesday 8th April 2015, 6.55pm (day 1,322)

Neapolitan, 8/4/15

Those who know their ice-cream, know why.

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A little something I picked up yesterday

Wednesday 11th March 2015, 7.50pm (day 1,294)

Sheep skull, 11/3/15

Always nice to have some kind of memento of a good day out. In five and a half years of tramping the fells of the Lake District on a regular basis, I have come across six intact sheep’s skulls including this one from yesterday: but none of the others had horns as spectacular as this one. I think I’ll hang this one from the front door to deter canvassers.

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Crocuses

Thursday 5th March 2015, 9.45am (day 1,288)

Crocuses, 5/3/15

Sometimes these photos are planned. When Joe (birthday yesterday) was born the ground was strewn with crocuses (croci?) like these and my mum-in-law predicted the flowers would become a symbol of this event in our lives. She was right. I passed these growing plants in the Sackville Street gardens in Manchester yesterday (home of the Alan Turing statue) but there was no time to get a shot. Repeating the walk to work today though I spent a few minutes there to see what I could do to mark this sign of spring.

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Canada geese

Wednesday 25th February 2015, 3.40pm (day 1,280)

Canada geese, 25/2/15

 

Pictured by the canal this afternoon. The one on the right is flexing his/her muscles, or giving its wings a stretch. I don’t know if these are males or females — unlike with mallards it seems rather difficult to tell.

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